The Moore League hits the road this week after going just 2-5 a week ago. With league play just a couple weeks away, it’s these pre-league games that form a team’s attitude and psyche. If you can win on the road, you can win anywhere …

Poly (1-1) at Newport Harbor (1-0) 600 Irvine Ave, Newport Beach 92663. 7pm.
The Jackrabbits will try to bounce back after putting up only seven points in their loss to Birmingham last week. Junior quarterback Morgan Fennell didn’t have much time to throw against Birmingham which forced him into a few bad decisions. Don’t expect Newport Harbor to sit back and let him pick them apart, but the Poly offensive line will be better prepared after being peppered with blitzes last week. Expect Poly to get back to their winning ways, 28-14.

Compton (1-0) at Hawthorne (0-2) 4859 W El Segundo Blvd, Hawthorne 90250. 7pm.
The Tarbabes have a date with Hawthorne, a team that has been outscored in their first two games 66-12. But that doesn’t matter to Compton Coach Calvin Bryant. “We just want to execute every week—last game doesn’t matter. We got better and we know they got better, too.” Compton will be without junior running back T’Vaughn Brown, who also plays safety, but he should be back next week when the Tarbabes will be celebrating after they trounce Hawthorne, 41-17.

Cabrillo (1-1) at St. John Bosco (1-0) 13640 Bellflower Blvd, Bellflower 90706. 7:30pm.
The Jaguars will continue their season-opening road trip as they head to Bellflower to take on the St. John Bosco Braves. Even though the Jags are 1-1, they could easily be undefeated. Last week, trailing by five points with only a few minutes left, Cabrillo fumbled a punt return near midfield and lost their chance for a game-winning drive. They’ll be lucky to get an opportunity like that again against a strong Bosco team which has a handful of playmakers coming out of the backfield. The Braves tame the Jags, 20-6.

Jordan (1-0) at Diamond Bar (1-1) 21400 E Pathfinder Rd, Diamond Bar 91765. 7pm.
The Panthers must travel the furthest of all the Moore League teams this week as they head to the Inland Empire to take on Diamond Bar. Senior running back Tylik Carter will need to build on the momentum he gathered last week, scoring the Panthers’ first touchdown of the season. But Diamond Bar, which thumped Walnut High, 31-6, last week has a pretty good running back of its own in Adrian Thomas. Thomas, a senior, is averaging more than eight yards a carry. Both quarterbacks will do their share of handing off in what could turn into the best week of the game. Diamond Bar defends its home turf, 14-12.

Wilson (1-1) at Los Altos (1-0) 15325 Los Robles Ave, Hacienda Heights 91745. 7pm.
The Bruins will need to forget the heartbreak of last week’s one point loss to Pacifica when it heads to Los Altos. They’ll continue to lean on speedy receivers, junior Jemari Roberts and senior Michael Willie. The key, however, will be Wilson’s senior running back Randall Hook. Hook carried the ball only a handful of times last week, and he will need to find seams inside so Roberts and Willie can exploit the outside. He will and the Bruins will be singing on the bus ride home after their victory, 21-17.

GAME OF THE WEEK
Lakewood (0-2) v. Mayfair (1-1)
Ron Yary Stadium, Bellflower High, 15301 S McNab Ave, Bellflower 90706. 7pm.

HISTORY
These cross-town rivals share the same zip code but refuse to share the same silver pail. Mounted atop a wooden stand, the foot-high trophy is called the Milk Bucket and even though it may be small, it grants bragging rights around Lakewood for an entire year.

“It’s the battle for the city,” said Lakewood High teacher and former football coach, Tom Bush. “For all we know, the two schools were probably separated by farm land back in the day.”

They started playing for the “The Bucket” in 1962 but, by the mid-60s, the schools stopped playing each other to focus their respective football schedules on schools inside their divisions. Since then, Lakewood has joined the Pac 5 Division, the premier high school football division in Southern California, while Mayfair stayed in the Southwest Division.

But when Mike Fitch took over the Mayfair program in 1994, he didn’t let division titles change what he thought would make his program better.

“You have to play good teams,” Fitch said. “Your weaknesses are exposed, and that gives you something real to work on the next week in practice.”

So Fitch called Lakewood. Two years later, the schools were playing each other again and, for the fist time in more than 30 years, they were playing for the Bucket.

Lakewood has won four of the last six contests but, since the Bucket’s return in ’96, the competition has been close, with Mayfair winning five games to Lakewood’s six.

LAST YEAR
One of the best games in the series saw the schools stage a back-and-forth slugfest that eventually went to overtime. Mayfair won the game, 42-41 and went on to an undefeated regular season.

THIS YEAR
The Lancers are 0-2, but aren’t panicking.

“We’ve had some injuries and some guys out,” said Lakewood Coach Thadd MacNeal. “Last week, we really beat ourselves.”

Last week, sophomore quarterback Jesse Scroggins stepped in for injured started Tofi Tiedmann and played well, leading Lakewood to a 21-10 lead over Tesoro before it stormed back to win 24-21. The Lancers will need to get junior running back Alex Fletcher, who had four touchdowns against Mayfair last season, involved early and often. Asked if he expects the same this year, Fletcher shrugged.

“I don’t care, I just want the Bucket.”

Across town, Mayfair is young and relatively untested. Coming off an undefeated season, the Monsoons are “real green,” according to Fitch and are in a bit of rebuilding mode. However, they have some real talent in senior running back Corey Norman and senior middle linebacker Reuben Willis.

After practice on Tuesday afternoon, Fitch gathered his squad and told them of a polar bear he saw on the Discovery Channel trying to drag a gigantic seal onto land while the seal struggled to enter the safety of the ocean.

“One was trying to eat and one was trying to stay alive,” Fitch said. “In the end, the polar bear won, but that’s because he wanted it more. It’s about who wants it more, men. It’s about what’s behind your chest cavity.”

PREDICTION
There won’t be any bears or seals involved, but the Monsoons will give the Lancers their best shot. However, Lakewood has too many playmakers on defense and Mayfair will struggle to sustain drives. Lakewood will reclaim the Milk Bucket, 24-10.

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